Thank you all who have been reviewing/favoriting/following! I got such lovely responses to the last post, Denim, and I'm glad you enjoyed it! Now going back to the angst, briefly. I was thinking about this scene and how it felt like a punch to the gut, did some exploring with it, and came up with this.

Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of the affiliated characters. If I did we, wouldn't have had such a long hiatus (IT'S BACK TONIGHT! IT'S BACK IT'S BACK IT'S BACK! :D)

9. Smile

He was walking slowly down the hall of the hospital, wondering what to say to her, when she turned and saw him, a smile on her face.

It wasn't a smirk or a tired smile or a halfhearted grin, which seemed to be all anyone could manage these days. It was an actual, brilliant smile, one that drew creases at the corners of her eyes and declared to the world that happiness still existed.

"Never thought I'd see one of those," he said quietly as he approached the hospital room.

Emma stepped away from her post at the doorway and moved into the hall, eyebrows raised at him in amusement. "It's called a baby."

"No, Swan." His gaze drifted to her lips again, then quickly returned to her eyes. "A smile."

Her grin spread, telling of triumph. "We won."

His own smile fell. He didn't need reminding, because their victory had not come without complications; complications of water and darkness and a kiss he couldn't remember and wasn't sure he would have allowed to happen had he been given a choice; complications that led to his predicament at hand, in which he didn't know what to say to the woman who kissed him after saying she never would and gave up her magic to save his life.

She would have to be dense to be unaware of his feelings, and if there was one thing he knew about Emma Swan since she had called him out on day one, it was that she was most certainly not dense.

So what, exactly, did it mean that he was standing there speaking to her, heart still beating, rather than the alternative Zelena had planned for him? Did it even mean anything at all? He assumed he was making a greater deal of it than was necessary as he realized several moments of silence had passed. The least he could do was express his gratitude that his lungs were filled with air instead of water...and hope it would begin a certain conversation, the thought of which was making his heart jump erratically.

"With all the chaos," he began, remaining deceptively calm as he glanced at the Charmings and the new addition to their family, "I never got the chance to say thank you."

"You really think I'd let you drown?" she asked, indicating hints of incredulity.

Her response elevated his confidence, slightly. It was a good sign that she didn't want him dead. He remembered the last words they'd shared, part of another expressive argument where she closed off her feelings and he bared his soul. He decided to stay away from that path.

"Given our history, can you blame me for being uncertain?" he joked.

And then her smile grew. He hadn't thought that was possible, but there it was, spreading across her face and announcing her current lightheartedness.

When the conversation had started, Hook felt as if he had been walking on egg shells, unsure of which direction to take and if he would step on a sore spot and leave something chipped or cracked or completely ruined. Now, he had found his footing, seeming to glide easily along on ice, smooth and steady and a wonderful change from their last argument.

Something else had been bothering him, and he found himself able to ask, "Has your power returned now that Zelena has been defeated?"

For a brief moment, Emma appeared hesitant, and he immediately knew her answer.

"No."

Inwardly, he winced. He truly had been hoping for the return of her magic; it was part of who she was, and for it not to have returned meant that Zelena had the power to take away someone's magic permanently. It meant that Emma was no longer the Savior.

And it was his fault. "I'm sorry, Love."

"It's okay," she replied, not quite as dejected as he would have thought she'd be. She was still grinning. "I won't need it in New York."

Her smile slapped him in the face. He replayed the words in his head, making sure they were what he thought he had heard.

He felt as if the ground below him had suddenly cracked and split. He was frozen in place and, an intense, burning, stinging sensation spread through his chest.

She called to Henry and led her son into the hospital room, but Hook didn't hear anything. He unsteadily made his way to the doorframe and remained there. When Snow smiled at him, radiating the incandescent joy of motherhood, he gave her a quick, rather forced grin that was a pathetic attempt at happiness because he couldn't even try.

He didn't understand. Even if her magic wasn't to return, Henry was happy here, and her parents just had another baby - how could she leave? Now that she knew the truth, how could she go back to living the lie? Was she deluding herself?

Was he deluding himself? Those powers would be difficult to work with in New York, but without them, she was just ordinary, like she wanted to be.

Kissing him wasn't so much of a chore for her. It meant losing her magic, but obviously that was a price she was more than happy to pay. Saving his life was a fortunate side effect.

He couldn't even be angry at her. He couldn't feel much of any emotion; he was still frozen in the doorway, the fake smile plastered on his face hiding his attempts to thaw his heart.

Thoughts? Feelings? Put them in the little box below and tell me what you think! And, most of all, enjoy the return of OUAT!